Ohio pride shines far, wide

Best athletes, coaches have loyal, loud fans (and we love it)

Mar. 28, 2014

John Havlicek — of Bridgeport — and Ohio State coach Fred Taylor — of Zanesville — hold the 1962 regional final trophy the Buckeyes earned by beating Kentucky 74-64 at Iowa City to reach the Final Four. / Larry Stoddard/AP

Written by

Larry Phillips

CentralOhio.com

Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes tips his cap as members of the Buckeyes carry him off the field after a 49-7 victory against Illinois in 1974. / AP

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A couple of weeks ago in this space we offered the ABC’s of Ohio’s sports figures, pondering the best of the best by last names from each letter of the alphabet.

It was a lengthy list, thanks to the tremendous legacy our athletes and coaches have woven across the tapestry of sports. It’s fun to tap into that history, spark conversation and gather opinion from Toledo to Portsmouth, Youngstown to Cincinnati, and all points in between.

Our best players, coaches and front office personnel hail from every nook and cranny of the Buckeye state — and their fans let me hear their voice in full throat (or email) during the past two weeks.

The letter H by far was the most contentious choice. We had our share of John Havlicek, Chic Harley and Woody Hayes fans hurl their thoughts my way. But Pete Henry was my choice, and his name was not well known. That’s largely because his final NFL game was played before 1930.

Still, Henry was by any standard one of the greatest, if not the greatest football player in Ohio history at every level. He clearly is the best two-way lineman, and one of the top punters in the history of the sport.

Henry is Ohio’s lone charter member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, one of only eight men in history to earn such a distinction. He ranks with Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski, Dutch Clark, Don Hutson, Sammy Baugh, Ernie Nevers and Dutch Clark in that exclusive company.

Henry is the only lineman among that group, which speaks to his legendary status. Still, some were not convinced.

Baker is correct in noting Henry is not well known by the casual fan. But that isn’t his fault, and doesn’t diminish his accomplishments.

Henry’s career at the college (three-time All-American at Washington and Jefferson) and pro level (five-time first-team All-Pro, anchor for the Canton Bulldogs’ 23-game NFL unbeaten streak) and reputation as the greatest offensive and defensive lineman in the first 50 years of the sports swayed me.

Others thought Henry was a ploy.

“Nice try Larry, to see if anyone noticed,” wrote Nick Madden, of Zanesville. “I know you know better and I don’t have the room nor time to write all his accomplishments, but let me say John Havlicek is certainly worthy of mention. Let me remind you that the great Bill Russell said in 1974 that John was the greatest all round basketball player he had ever seen.

“Great article and I know you were trying to strike our interest. Well done.”

Madden was right. I was trying to stir interest, but not by overlooking “Hondo.” He was on my original list, and inadvertently cut and pasted out in some of the early editions of our story. That was entirely my fault.

Let me be clear, I’m a spirited member of the Havlicek, Harley and Hayes fraternity. If there are active organizations in support of any of them, drop me an email and I will pay the dues.

Some of us just have a difference in opinion on where they rank, which is the most colorful part of this exercise.

Terry Morris — fire chief at Greenfield Township — had two more suggestions, one I absolutely missed. He promoted Bridgeport graduates Joe Niekro and Bobby Douglas, along with Havlicek and Phil Niekro (the latter two were on our list).

Joe Niekro certainly was an effective major league pitcher, but not quite in the rank with others of his letter. Joe’s brother partly is to blame for that standard, Phil Niekro being a Hall of Famer certainly raised the bar for the Ns, which also included Jack Nicklaus.

But I missed Douglas. An Ohio high school state champion wrestler at Bridgeport, he was a key figure in Oklahoma State’s NCAA championship team in 1964, and better as a coach. Douglas guided Arizona State to an NCAA team championship in 1988, and runner-up finishes in ’89 and ’90.

In his career, he’s coached 13 NCAA individual champions, 110 All-Americans and is a Hall of Famer in his discipline. He’s also coached multiple U.S. Olympic teams. Douglas belonged among the Ds, with Len Dawson and Dan Dierdorf.

That’s the kind of information that makes these discussions enlightening, and I hope fun.

Thanks to everyone for reading and writing, and keep those thoughts coming. Your messages often spark ideas that lead to thought-provoking stories.

Larry Phillips is sports editor for the Media Network of Central Ohio. He can be reached at lbphillips@nncogannett.com or 419-521-7238. Follow him on Twitter: @OhioPrepLegends.